Wedge



m. 14, 1923. 11,464,974 G. W. DICKENS WEDGE Filed Dec. 12 1921 2Sheets-$heet 1 Aug. 14, 1923.

. G. w. DICKENS WEDGE Filed Dec. 12 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fatented Aug.I 1923.

@Fli iflltl.

GEORGE W. DICKENS, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

WEDGE.

Application fi1ed December 12, 1921. Serial No. 521,869.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. DICKENS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in vi edges, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wedges and moreespecially to a wedge employed in raising locomotives off the rails inmaking repairs.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a wedge ofthe above character with a special guard or flange which will engage orembrace the rail and securely hold the wedge in place while thenecessary repairs are being made, thereby not only facilitating the workbut preventing liability of injury to the workmen and others, as willmore fully hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes onlyand are therefore not drawn to scale:

Fig. 1 is an inside side elevation, illustrating the application of myinvention, one wheel of the locomotive being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is an outside elevation of the wedge and rail.

Fig. 3 is an end view, the rail shown in section and Fig. i is a detailperspective view of the wedge.

Referring to the drawings for a more particular description of myinvention, and in which drawings like parts are designated by likereference characters throughout the sev-.

eral views, the numeral 1 represents the rail, 2 one wheel of thelocomotive and 3 my im proved wedge, as a whole.

. The wedge comprises a longitudinal bar 4 of rectangular form in crosssection which fits on top of the rail and supports or elevates one wheelof the locomotive above the same in making repairs. The top of this baris beveled or tapered downwardly at one end, as 5, to form a wedge 6,which facilitates the raising of the locomotive wheel, as will beapparent.

In carrying out my invention, the bar a is provided at one edge andpreferably for the greater portion of its length, with an offsetdepending guard which embraces the inner edge of the rail head, saidguard being formed at its bottom edge with an outwardly extendingright-angularly bent flange 8 which closely fits or engages the bottomwall 9 of the rail head and in conjunction with the guard, holds thewedge securely in place while making repairs.

It is a well known fact to those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertains, that wedges are used in railroad yards in place ofa jack to raise locomotives off the rails in order to make repairs. Infact, on the larger types of locomotives, especially that known as theMallet type, jacks can not be used at all for making certain repairs.The wedge now in use, however, frequently slips off the rail, which notonly causes damage to the engine and delays the work, but is exceedinglydangerous to the workmen since there is danger of them becoming crushedbeneath the locomotive when the wedge slips. Further, the wedge oftenflies several feet and weighing about 100 pounds, is apt to cause injuryshould it strike a workman.

Through the use of my invention, how ever, liability of the wedgeslipping from place is safeguarded, and hence, not only are delays inmaking repairs obviated, but danger to the workmen for the above reasonis removed.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, itis thought that the construction, operation and advantages of myinvention will be readily understood without requiring a more extendedexplanation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

A wedge adapted to be used for elevating a wheel with relation to arail, comprisinga block which is rectangular in cross section and whichis beveled at one end portion, said block having at one side corner anoutstanding offset portion the upper edge of which is spaced from theupper face of the block, said offset portion being provided at its loweredge with an inwardly disposed flange adapted to engage under the headof the rail.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE W. DICKENS.

